Wish
by Mird
Summary: On Ed's eleventh birthday, he makes a wish. Little!Ed, Al and Winry. Fail-worthy, Oneshot.


Wish

It was surprising, really, that such a small group of people could make such a large mess in such a short amount of time. Just three children could transform a cake and a scattering of handmade decorations into a wasteland in only minutes. The cake was homemade, slightly burnt, and over frosted, but the rush of childish excitement had cancelled out any and all complaints about the flavor. It was a _cake_, for a _birthday party_, and that was all that mattered. No one considered the mess that would surely follow.

For Ed and Al, it was a much-deserved and much-awaited break from their alchemy research. For Winry, it was a chance to spend time with the two brothers, despite their constant claims of 'we're busy!' For Den, it was an opportunity to lick the floors clean of frosting globs, and for Pinako it was nothing short of a burden. She was the voice of reason, talking as loud as she could over the babble of 'this will be so much _fun!_' It was her job, as the sole adult present, to teach the children that life wasn't all about fun, even if it was obvious that they had already learned that lesson on their own when she wasn't looking. For the most part, she allowed them their privacy to do as they pleased and only interfered when absolutely necessary.

The party- it was the only word that could be used to describe it, considering the festive spirit, even though there were only three people in attendance- was over and done with. All the decorations were crumpled and ripped, littering the floor. The sugar rush, spurred by the cake, had worn off for all three of the children, leaving them to sit around and carry on conversation.

"What did you wish for your birthday wish?" Al asked. He rolled three of the eleven original candles back and forth between his fingers and the table in a distracted manner. He savored the feeling, as if he thought- or maybe _knew_- that he would never again be able to feel the smooth wax of birthday candles between his fingers.

"NO!" Winry exclaimed, cutting off Ed's reply before he even opened his mouth. "Don't tell us your wish! Everyone knows that if you tell someone your wish it won't come true!"

Ed wrinkled his nose. It was a habit that he had recently acquired; whenever something annoyed him, or angered him, or upset him in any way, he wrinkled his nose as if he were smelling something disgusting. "That's stupid," he said. "It doesn't make a difference whether I tell you or keep it to myself."

"Yes it does!" said Winry. She stood up and placed her hands on her hips, assuming the pose of woman-in-charge. "You AREN'T allowed to tell us what you wished for!"

Ed stood up as well, letting his chair fall to the cluttered ground with a scrape and a thud, for dramatic effect. "It's just a wish! It doesn't matter whether I tell you or not! Right, Al?"

All eyes turned to the youngest of the trio, who shrank back in response to the sudden attention. He always got himself into situations like this. He asked stupid questions that gave his brother stupid ideas, always spurring fights between Ed and Winry that never had a real winner.

"W-well..." he stuttered, his voice laced with worry. What was the right thing to say? What was wrong? Was there ever a difference? "Maybe you should listen to Winry. I mean, better safe than sorry, right?"

Ed wrinkled his nose yet again. It was a silent and constant manifestation of his annoyance. Both Al and Winry had grown to hate that face. Luckily, it was just a phase. Only a few months later, the expression would be long gone, replaced with only the required expressions: Anger, sadness, happiness and fear. In the grand scheme of things, trivial annoyances were best unnoticed, or at least ignored. "Why should I listen to Winry? She's stupid."

"How so?" Winry challenged. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave Ed a stiff glare, as if forgetting that it was his birthday and instead speaking directly to his usual, irritating personality.

"You tried to lick your own elbow!"

"No, YOU did that, brother," Al spoke up helpfully. "Winry was the one who told you to stop being ridiculous and wipe it off with a napkin."

Ed's mouth snapped shut. He glared at the floor, arms crossed, brooding.

Winry smiled smugly. "See, Ed? You aren't ALWAYS right. You need to listen to other people too, sometimes. And, really, if you tell anyone your wish, then-"

"I wished that mom would come back to life," Ed said.

The sentence was quick and spoken for the sole reason of keeping the upper hand and proving that he still held some authority. It was followed by a short pause, during which one could almost hear the gears churning in the heads of all three of the children.

"Well," Winry said stiffly, "It's not gonna come true, now is it?"

* * *

**And now, Mird goes beddy-bye. Good night, moon. ^^**

**EDIT: To all those who reviewed saying 'Winry sounded so MEAN at the end!' No, she is NOT being mean. She is genuinely frustrated with Ed for being such a single-minded, stubborn asshole. It's a natural response! *sticks out tongue* Plllp.**


End file.
